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Engraved Monolith from Jibal al-Khashabiyeh, Jordan
Over the past decade, two remarkable architectural finds were discovered in what are now the wastelands of Jordan and Northern Saudi Arabia. One, a carved “monolith”, and the second, a dislodged slab of in situ natural stone that were engraved to specifically represent the locations and layouts of numerous ancient lithic megastructures.
Large-scale, Neolithic, game-animal chutes, and traps, termed ’desert kites’, and ”only recognizable from the air”, were prehistorically documented in stone here. These mammoth land structures were the largest human constructions of this, or any previous, archaic era.
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Engraved Natural Stone ”Rock Art” Slab from Jebel az-Zilliyat, Saudi Arabia
These inscribed drawings, or “planimetrics”, date between 7,000 and 9,000 years ago, and emulate modern civil engineering documents of today. These lithics are a testament of early human cognitive processes, authenticating their ability to conceive and graphically map geological features, ’to-scale’.
Were these prehistoric ‘plans’ used to design the layout of these massive projects, or to document the position of the kites and traps to functionally benefit and facilitate the activities of the hunters? The authors of this report debate these options:
Quote
”In the case of a kite construction plan, detailed knowledge of the terrain and animal movement in the complex topography would have led to the formalization of the trap and its graphic representation before the construction phase. This would have ensured that the structure was in accordance with the project during construction…
The second hypothesis of a plan for preparing hunting activities is more plausible. In such a case, the graphic representation of the various functional elements making up the trap would formalize the process, to determine, for example, the number and position of hunters, to coordinate their actions and to anticipate animal reactions. A map would most probably be used here as a means of communication (almost like an ancestral way of writing) and would enable the collective interaction required for the smooth running of hunting operations…”
Regardless, the cerebral capabilities of these early humans are only now coming to light. Spatial awareness, conception, and perception to impactfully control and maneuver the built environment was an important early tool in the kit of our ancient ancestry.
Sources: Researchers claim to have uncovered world’s oldest architectural plans, Desert Monoliths Reveal World’s Oldest Architectural Plans, Desert Monoliths Reveal World’s Oldest Architectural Plans, The oldest plans to scale of humanmade mega-structures.
Dr. Troglodyte